Monday on CNN’s “AC360,” host Anderson Cooper opened his show with an emotional reading of the names of the victims of the Orlando, FL mass shooting.

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Cooper choking up several times in failed attempts to hold back his tears as he gave a few details about terrorism victims lives.

Cooper refused to name to gunman and said, “Good evening, everyone, thanks for joining us. We begin tonight with their names, the names of the 48 out of 49 people that have so far been identified, victims of the deadliest mass shooting in American history, a shooting in a gay nightclub a block from where I’m standing two nights ago. There’s one name you will not hear in the broadcast, one picture of a person you won’t see. We will not say the gunman’s name or show his photographer, it has been shown far too much already. Over the next two hours, we will tell you about the investigation, the latest, what we know drove the shooter to do the unthinkable. In text two hours, we want to keep the focus where it belongs, on people whose lives were cut short, we’re going to start by honoring them. There are more than a list of names, they’re a people that were loved, people with families, friends, dreams. The truth is we don’t know much about some of them. We want you to hear their names.”